Post-Game Talk: GM 3 Caps vs Canes

[John Price]

The Caps had a chip on their shoulder all year last playoffs away from home. It's very disturbing to see them play this badly in game 3.

They need to get that chip back Thursday. The last thing you wanted to do is give Carolina hope and make them believe. You can give them one game. This is a whole different series if they win Thursday. The momentum is completely gone. You cannot let that happen.

Thursday is essentially a must win game. on Thursday, you need to come out with force. Remind them who the Champions are. Remind them who the favorites are. Remember what they did to you today and exact your revenge. Make them pay for doing this.

 

[troyerlaw]

Hamilton would be top target next game.

Let’s go back to scoring goals, not breaking faces

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Never, ever again.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Chill guys. We have never had a sweep

I picked the Caps to win in 5 and I'm sticking with it.

 

[um]

The Caps had a chip on their shoulder all year last playoffs away from home. It's very disturbing to see them play this badly in game 3.

They need to get that chip back Thursday. The last thing you wanted to do is give Carolina hope and make them believe. You can give them one game. This is a whole different series if they win Thursday. The momentum is completely gone. You cannot let that happen.

Thursday is essentially a must win game.

I hate how casually people use must win... Canes fans were probably saying the same about game 2.

If the series goes 2-2 than its a best of 3 with home ice in our favour.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Let’s go back to scoring goals, not breaking faces

You can do both against Hamilton.

 

[Firsov99]

I'm about to start smoking again!

Use a Capitals patch to suppress the urge

 

[Bananas]

Wooooooooof

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

That was an ugly game out hit, out shot, out played...

Time for some of the stars to stand up for game 4.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

I call next GDT

If it's not just feces smashed into a keyboard you can never return...

 

[Empty Goal Net]

Chill guys. We have never had a sweep

Detroit in '98?

 

[RandyHolt]

They did it for Svech

 

[Calicaps]

Detroit in '98?

 

[John Price]

I hate how casually people use must win... Canes fans were probably saying the same about game 2.

If the series goes 2-2 than its a best of 3 with home ice in our favour.

The whole complexion changes if Carolina can steal game 4. It becomes a lot closer of a series than it should be. And by the way, Carolina could have easily won either games 1 or 2. I would prefer this team start remembering how to win from home and shut up opposing arenas. They went into hostile arenas last year and shut them up. Game 7 they came into Tampa and ran the table. Where was that fire? Where was that intensity?

I'm not saying that Reirden should be fired, heck his sample size is extremely small. But this series has been a lot closer than it should have been. Carolina is a good team. But they have constantly outshot the Caps and found ways to stay in games 1 and 2. Now they stole Game 3. Now they believe.

You need to extinguish with a champion's mentality any hope. If you let hope linger long enough, if you let them believe they can pull this thing off, they just might. Better to squash that flame before it gets out of control. See Islanders and Blue Jackets with 3-0 leads.

 

[Calicaps]

They did it for Svech

Honestly I think Ovie was really upset about that. He doesn’t want to kill a kid, and a young Russian at that. He was shook, I think, and the team follows its leader.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

We beat the Rangers in five games in the first round and got swept by Tampa in round two we don’t do good with a lot of time off and being big favorites

 

[um]

The whole complexion changes if Carolina can steal game 4. It becomes a lot closer of a series than it should be. And by the way, Carolina could have easily won either games 1 or 2. I would prefer this team start remembering how to win from home and shut up opposing arenas. They went into hostile arenas last year and shut them up. Game 7 they came into Tampa and ran the table. Where was that fire? Where was that intensity?

I'm not saying that Reirden should be fired, heck his sample size is extremely small. But this series has been a lot closer than it should have been. Carolina is a good team. But they have constantly outshot the Caps and found ways to stay in games 1 and 2. Now they stole Game 3. Now they believe.

You need to extinguish with a champion's mentality any hope. If you let hope linger long enough, if you let them believe they can pull this thing off, they just might. Better to squash that flame before it gets out of control. See Islanders and Blue Jackets with 3-0 leads.

You are aware that winning series 4 or 5 games is very rare these days... your expectations are way too high.

 

[Capsman]

I wish I could drink some of the “kicked in the teeth, throw out the tape” mentality Kool-Aid. And the comparisons to the Toronto Boston series? Toronto’s game 2 is not even in the stratosphere of this game.

My God how on earth can you think 2 shots through 2+ periods is a lesson learned? What exactly do you learn? It’s going to require a major strategy change, tape watching, and a practice. One that should have been made before this game, when the signs were there.

 

[AtNightWeFly]

Use a Capitals patch to suppress the urge

I would rather eat it right about now!

 

[HandsomeTom43]

I was going to say, I don't think we had a game like this last year did we? I don't remember it, if we did.

I missed the first two periods, but based on what I saw in the third, it was a microcosm of the game. When you get your ass whipped like that, I think it's preferable. They have to realize adjustments have to be made, effor thas to be better, getting embarrassed like that--I thought I was watching the Tampa Bay/Columbus series. You can't look at this game and say "I like the way we're playing" so I think this will be a good loss. If they don't respond, well then they don't deserve to go back to back.

 

[tenken00]

I’m more from the ‘lose the game, but don’t lose the lesson’ school. We got outworked, and it wasn’t an anomaly. We were fortunate to be up 2-0 after two close games, and tonight the trends caught up with us. For sure i would swap out some of the bottom-6 guys for next
Game, and i would give someone else a chance over Djoos. I guess that’s Siggy.

12 shots across three periods is unacceptable, especially considering we had 9 after one.

No, Caps weren’t going to sail undefeated to ECF. But there’s competing and losing. And then there’s not even competing.

I agree with all of this, but I've always felt our guys sometimes get a little too ahead of themselves at times. Hat sizes get a little larger. Sometimes they just need a good old asskicking every once in awhile to wake them up.

Last year we never had a game like this, but you can bet that going down 0-2 at home to the Blue Jackets scared the bejeezus out of them.

This game doesnt mean that the Caps aren't a great team. What makes a great team is how they respond to this. And they'll even have an extra day more to stew.

 

[Calicaps]

I wish I could drink some of the “kicked in the teeth, throw out the tape” mentality Kool-Aid. And the comparisons to the Toronto Boston series? Toronto’s game 2 is not even in the stratosphere of this game.

My God how on earth can you think 2 shots through 2+ periods is a lesson learned? What exactly do you learn? It’s going to require a major strategy change, tape watching, and a practice. One that should have been made before this game, when the signs were there.

You live for these moments, when their performance actually matches your histrionics, don’t you?

 

[John Price]

You are aware that winning series 4 or 5 games is very rare these days... your expectations are way too high.

Things start ratcheting up the longer you extend a series. We've seen the Caps win deep series that have gone 6 or 7 before. It may even be possible. Heck, Pittsburgh and Washington were tied 2-2 going into a crucial game 5 (as was the situation in the first round) and Washington won both games. I am just saying I would feel more comfortable if we took out their will to believe.

This is going to be a tough series, just like any other playoff series. A 6 or 7 game series win isn't out of the question, but now Carolina has showed today that they can step toe to toe with the Caps and push them around, at least for one game. And throughout games 1 and 2 they were pretty much in the mix.

In the end, it's typical Caps, isn't it? They never win easy. They go up 2-0 and then drop one baffingly. We've seen this script so many times.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

That was an ugly game out hit, out shot, out played...

Time for some of the stars to stand up for game 4.

Stars need to be better but I am really concerned about the role players.

 

[RandyHolt]

Honestly I think Ovie was really upset about that. He doesn’t want to kill a kid, and a young Russian at that. He was shook, I think, and the team follows its leader.

Post of the day candidate. It was a turning point, and Ovi bashing a guys face in... isn't really Ovi. Young russian no less.... nuff said